Comments for Recovering from Teach For Americahttps://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com
Fri, 29 Jul 2016 17:58:13 +0000hourly1http://wordpress.com/Comment on About Me by pencilshankhttps://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/#comment-313
Fri, 29 Jul 2016 17:58:13 +0000http://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/?page_id=2#comment-313Looking for horror stories for a podcast…especially first year teacher stories. We can keep it anonymous if you would like. If you are interested please e-mail me at pencilshanks4teachers@gmail.com
]]>Comment on About Me by pencilshankhttps://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/#comment-312
Fri, 29 Jul 2016 17:55:50 +0000http://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/?page_id=2#comment-312I also had a tough time with student behaviors while substituting. I also had a tough time finding a teaching job. I am currently looking for people to interview for a Podcast that will discuss these issues. If you are interested in sharing your stories…please e-mail me at pencilshanks4teachers@gmail.com and tell me who you are. If you do not want to reveal your name so that you can really say what you need…that is what we are looking for. I want people to be as honest and real as possible.
]]>Comment on About Me by pencilshankhttps://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/#comment-311
Fri, 29 Jul 2016 17:51:24 +0000http://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/?page_id=2#comment-311Hello, I am currently looking for people to interview for a podcast for teachers. I am very interested in your story. If you are interested in a 15-20 minute phone interview…that would be great! I do not have my website up as of yet but I am currently seeking content to post. This website will be the horror stories of the teaching profession. If you want to remain anonymous and just tell me the story and where you worked so that you can be as raw as possible. That is what I am looking for. Please e-mail me if you are interested at pencilshanks4teachers@gmail.com
]]>Comment on About Me by dick J.https://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/#comment-279
Sat, 21 Nov 2015 05:24:51 +0000http://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/?page_id=2#comment-279I think everyone here is dancing around a Topic that everyone is aware of; but forbidden to say. Lest, you are looking to be labeled and commit career suicide. It’s unfortunate the truth can’t be discussed. The empirical evidence is overwhelming. Which country has a 100 trillion dollar bank note? Go to Craigslist South Africa, click on the for sale column, see what you find. Spells, Embalming powder, abortion pills, Albino children, ‘good luck’ “body parts”; taken from albino’s while still alive.
There is a website called “hey jackass”. The contents give an accurate description of who is committing crime, and who the victims are.
Doctors, Lawyers, stockbrokers, and insurance co’s use charts with detailed data all the time, why is information being withheld?
]]>Comment on About Me by Shttps://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/#comment-278
Wed, 17 Jun 2015 05:57:38 +0000http://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/?page_id=2#comment-278After getting my Master’s Degree and having a difficult time finding a teaching position, I resorted to many odd – end jobs. One of them was being a long – term substitute teacher at a school that served disadvantaged students in Northern California. It was common for the school to hire teachers from TFA. Many of the students I worked with were English Language Learners. From my experience, even with being a substitute teacher, I was overwhelmed and stressed by the students’ behaviors. I was appalled that a few of the students referred to me by racial slurs. I was constantly writing reports to the teachers apologizing for not being able to satisfy their requirements for that day, but there was so much that I could say about the many disruptions that occurred during class time. Administration offered very little support and discouraged me to send the students with challenging behaviors to the office. Because I was a substitute teacher, I also felt disconnected at the school, but one teacher confided to me that many of the teachers at that school will quit and/or there’s likelihood that they won’t return after their term.

After quitting my position at the school, I applied to many positions within the public school districts in low – middle class areas. My experience in education is so much better now: I can’t link my better experience to the public school system, but I will say that I will never look back to teaching at the charter schools that serve students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Thank you for your insight!

]]>Comment on About Me by Coreyhttps://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/#comment-268
Sat, 01 Nov 2014 16:53:18 +0000http://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/?page_id=2#comment-268I never so much as thought of joining Teach For America because I totally disagree with the way the organization does business, and besides I never wanted to teach, and even if I did thanks to the abysmal state of services for the learning disabled I didn’t have grades that were good enough (but they were by no means shabby).

I hope this counts as a horror story: My first year I was in a class where I was having a lot of trouble. We had a teaching assistant who was supposed to be helping us, providing the odd bit of one on one tutoring, and answering our questions.

She was woefully inadequate at this. Not once did she stay with me long enough to fully answer my questions in class, and instead of seeing me alone for 15 minutes after class she would send out a group email inviting 20 other students to be there. Due to this lack of help I pretty much flunked the class (and this could have been remedied with 20 minutes of tutoring now and again.) She was one of the professors (and he wasn’t so good at his job either) favorites, so he always made excuses for her. She couldn’t do her job.

She went into Teach for America in pad her grad school application. To work with children who have the same learning problems I do. Then she wanted to go to grad school. To work with children with learning disabilities. Near the end of the semester I let her have it and she had a hissy fit.

]]>Comment on Response to George F. Will’s TFA article by SOS Conference 2011, Day Two | An Urban Teacher's Educationhttps://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/response-to-george-f-wills-tfa-article/#comment-255
Wed, 10 Sep 2014 05:01:30 +0000http://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/?p=46#comment-255[…] pigs.” He’s since begun a blog and takes George Will to task for supporting TFA here. I noticed a degree of incredulity in his voice as he talked about Will’s piece that I used […]
]]>Comment on About Me by katherinehttps://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/#comment-252
Tue, 24 Jun 2014 16:06:07 +0000http://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/?page_id=2#comment-252Jasherwilliamson makes a very good point. I have a sister who teachers in Seattle and a brother who completed two years of TFA in Detriot and is now working in the administration. I see more teaching expertise and understanding of the education system in my sister than I see in my brother, who couldn’t stand teaching and is now trying to make a difference through the administration. This is similar to many other young TFA alumni entering the Seattle school districts. Moreover, regardless of if there is proof that TFA steals jobs, they do not train college graduates enough to be adequate teachers. There is data that shows teachers with 5 years of training perform better than teachers with 4 years of training.
]]>Comment on Teach For America Horror Stories by Kellyhttps://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/teach-for-america-horror-stories/#comment-249
Sat, 19 Apr 2014 21:06:03 +0000http://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/?p=38#comment-249I would love to read your blog as I am currently trying to decide whether I am going to accept my TFA offer.
]]>Comment on About Me by taylorznhttps://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/#comment-247
Sun, 13 Apr 2014 23:11:34 +0000http://recoveringfromtfa.wordpress.com/?page_id=2#comment-247I think that the key takeaway here is “my personal experience.” Much of what is being posted here is based on conjecture and speculation – nothing more. Many of the regions in which TFA operates have both teacher surplus and a job surplus. This exists because many traditional teachers choose to avoid jobs in these cities as they are less than ideal (to say the least). Furthermore, cms and traditional teachers have to compete for jobs in the same pool and make their case to principals. Principals are going to make the decision that they believe is best based on the facts as they see them. There is no conspiracy or hidden contracts. In fact, each year some cms are NEVER hired and have to be released. In short, cms in classrooms do not automatically equal traditional teachers without jobs.

Additionally, the fact that cms are equally as effective as other new teachers poses an interesting question regarding how well we are preparing teachers at our universities. From an empirical perspective, it is hypocritical to attack cms and not new tradtional teachers considering that they have similar-to-same effectiveness and drop out rates.